Essex Rail Ticket Offices Face Axe

6 September 2011, 06:00 | Updated: 6 September 2011, 07:24

One in four railway ticket offices in England and Wales could close according to claims by a leading transport union.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association says buried in the small print of a Government report there's a "hit list" almost 700 stations that could be affected, including 23 in Essex, with a loss of around 1,000 jobs.

Derek Monnery, from the Essex Rail Users Federations, says plans to close the ticket offices could end up costing the train companies:

"The answer is that probably a lot of people will decide not buy a ticket at all and then bluff their way through the ticket inspector if he arrives on the train."

The stations affected in Essex include:

Alresford
Chafford Hundred
Colchester Town
Dovercourt
East Tilbury
Elsenham
Frinton-on-Sea
Great Bentley
Harlow Mill
Harwich International
Newport (Essex)
Ockendon
Prittlewell
Roydon
Rye House
Sawbridgeworth
Shoeburyness
St Margarets (Hertfordshire)
Stansted Mountfitchet
Thorpe-Le-Soken
Waltham Cross
Walton-On-Naze
West Horndon
Wivenhoe

For a full list of the ticket office closures click here